Romans

1. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
ROMANS.
Introduction: Paul’s epistle (letter) to the Romans is written to Christians, but in
many places speaks of lost men like in chapter 2 verse 1. The theme of the book is
“Justification by Faith." Justification means, “to be declared righteous and thereby
free from guilt and punishment.” Other words connected with salvation are:
1. REDEMPTION 2. SANCTIFICATION 3. REGENERATION
4. ADOPTION 5. REMISSION 6. RECONCILIATION
7. PROPITIATION 8. CIRCUMCISION 9. IMPUTATION
10. PREDESTINATION
The book of Romans is closely connected to Galatians in content. Both have a lot of
information on New Testament salvation.
Chapter 1
v.1) Paul says that he is separated “UNTO” the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 6:17 he
speaks of being separated “FROM” the lost. This shows two different types of
separation in the Bible.
*God called Paul on the road to Damascus to be an apostle. His calling was very
unique (Gal. 1:16–17). No other man was called exactly like Paul was called (Acts 9)
and no other man was called to have the ministry that Paul had (Romans 11:13). His
job was to go to the Gentiles with the message that the Jews had rejected (Acts
28:28). Paul was “the Apostle to the Gentiles.” Peter was “the Apostle to the Jews.”
This is clear in Galatians 2:8 where the Jews are called “the circumcision.”
*The following list of verses shows the transition from Peter (Apostle of
the Jews) to Paul (Apostle of the Gentiles).
__ PETER ____ PAUL__
1. Both heal a cripple Acts 3:1-8 compare with Acts 14:8-11
2. Miraculous power Acts 5:15 compare with Acts 19:11-12
3. Dead Raised Acts 9:36-41 compare with Acts 20:9-12
4. Divine judgment Acts 5:3-10 compare with Acts 13:8-11
5. Healing Acts 9:32-34 compare with Acts 28:8-9
6. Saw visions Acts 10:11-17 compare with Acts 16:9
v.2) The word “afore” is Old English for “before” or “in the past.” Though God did
not reveal NT salvation in the OT according to 1 Peter 1:10,11, God DID reveal the
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2. gospel (1 Corinth. 15:1-4 the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ). For instance,
Psalm 22 is the crucifixion Psalm and Isaiah 53 is about the Suffering Servant of
Jehovah.
v.3) Christ’s human lineage (according to the flesh) was through David to Mary, but
spiritually it was only through God the Father.
v.4) The resurrection proves Christ is the holy, perfect Son of God. The phrase “from
the dead” is a reference to Christ being taken out from those people that are dead. In
simpler words, He came up BEFORE the dead are supposed to come up. The
Pharisees believed in the resurrection “of the dead,” but what bothered them was
Christ’s resurrection “from the dead” in Acts 4:2. The Jew is waiting for a
resurrection “of the dead,” like in Ezekiel 37. But Jesus came up “from the dead”
before the resurrection “of the dead.” This proves that He was not the average or
common Jew. (Mark 9:9,10; John 11:21-26) If you have the One who is the
Resurrection, you can avoid the dreadful resurrection of damnation (Rev. 20:11-15).
v.5) Many false teachers use Hebrews 5:8,9 to prove that you must “obey” to be
saved. Some of these false teachers try to teach that good works will save you in this
way, and others say you must “obey by water baptism.” But this verse says,
“obedience to the f aith .” Romans 10:16 speaks about obeying the Gospel by
“believing.” Romans 16:25-26 says that Paul’s gospel was made known to “all
nations (Gentiles)” for the “obedience of “faith.” The best thing you can do is stay in
the books of Romans and Galatians for NT salvation. The Gentiles receive the Holy
Spirit by faith in Galatians 3:14 without water baptism or works.
v.6) This is a reference to the “call” to salvation like in 8:30. God calls every man to
salvation (Act 17:30). Some men come but most men refuse (Matt. 7:13-14; Acts
28:24).
v.8) The words “whole, all, every, and always” are sometimes used with exceptions
and sometimes without exception (see v.9).
v.11) The spiritual gifts are given in 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 lists 9
gifts. Four are Jewish SIGN gifts. They are healing, miracles, tongues, and
interpretation of tongues. These sign gifts passed away by Acts 28. The book of 1
Corinthians was written between Acts 16-18.
*The non-SIGN gifts are still present today. The non-sign gifts are wisdom, faith,
knowledge, prophecy (Rev. 19:10), and discerning of spirits.
*Paul had the ability to impart spiritual gifts, but the only way we can do this is by
teaching and preaching the word of God, so that a hearer can increase in wisdom,
faith, knowledge, etc. We do not have the Apostolic signs to lay hands on someone
and give them a spiritual gift (Rev. 2:2).
v.13) The Old English word “let” means “to hinder” (like in Isaiah 43:13), but also
means “to allow.”
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3. v.14) Paul was a debtor to God because God gave him salvation. But he also saw
himself as a debtor to the Gentiles because one of the reasons God saved Paul was to
make him “the Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13; Acts 28:28; ACTS 26:15-18
“…for this purpose…”).
v.15) A preacher should be prepared to preach at all times. He should especially be
ready to preach the Gospel (1 Corinth 15:1-4).
v.16) Salvation is to the Jew first (ACTS 3:25-26)!
*Real power is found in the GOSPEL, not in witchcraft or any other thing. A person
that is saved should not be ashamed to speak out for Jesus Christ (Rom 10:11).
v.17) Compare this verse with Habakkuk 2:4 and notice two things:
1. God as the Author of the Bible can quote His own words FREELY (or "not
exactly”).
2. There is a difference between OT and NT salvation. The OT says “his faith,” but in
the NT even the faith a man has is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8,9).
*USA laws of jurisprudence state, “An author can freely quote his own work (book)
because he knew what he had in mind when he was writing the book.”
*Any man has enough faith to be saved according to Rom 10:8.
v.18) Notice that “ALL unrighteousness” receives the wrath of God. For a saved
person, the wrath was poured out on Jesus Christ at Calvary.
*This verse is changed in corrupt English versions to cover up the sins of the
corrupters. The phrase “…hold the truth in unrighteousness…” is changed to “…
suppress the truth…” in the NKJV and other modern versions change it to “...suppress
the truth by wickedness…”
*Many men stand in pulpits and hold the truth (KJV 1611), but do not believe it to be
perfect. In this way, they “hold the truth in unrighteousness.”
v.19) This speaks of man’s conscience revealing God to him (John 1:8,9; Rom.
2:14,15).
v.20) This is an apparent contradiction. How can something be “invisible” AND be
“clearly seen” at the same time? It is like the way Moses saw the Lord according to
Hebrews 11:27. That is, you can see some things very clearly with spiritual vision or
“eyes of faith.”
*THE WORD “GODHEAD” IS THE BIBLE WORD FOR “TRINITY.” Ask a
Jehovah’s witness to explain what the Godhead is (Acts 17:29; Col. 2:9).
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4. *God teaches men through similitudes (“as” and “like” are key words). From created
things, man can see God’s power and the Trinity. The sun’s actinic rays cannot be
seen or felt. This is a picture of God the Father. The sun’s light rays can be seen and
felt. This is a picture of God the Son. The sun’s heat rays can be felt, but cannot be
seen. This is a picture of the Holy Spirit.
v.21) NEVER neglect to give glory to God or to be thankful.
v.22) Men that hold the truth in unrighteousness deceive themselves. They profess to
be wise, but they are actually fools.
v.23) These men get so far away from God that they begin to worship images. The
ones that go the farthest begin to worship man or the human body. They become
sexual perverts and sodomites (vv.26-27). Notice that in the list given in the verse
that only man is called “corruptible.” Man is the problem and the whole creation is
waiting for him to be redeemed (Rom. 8:22-23).
v.24) These people are sexually deviant or “perverted.” It means they are not normal.
v.25) This is what Bible corrupters do. They change God’s truth into a lie.
*The modern, corrupt versions change this verse to cover the sins of the translators.
The NKJV says, “They exchanged the truth of God for the lie..” No, that is not
correct. It is not a trade. It is corruption of the pure and holy words of God.
v.26) Sodomy is against nature. God made a woman FOR a man, not a man for a
man. Fornication is a SIN of a natural or carnal man, but sodomy is a sin of an
unnatural man that is a pervert or deviant. It is the result of not glorifying God and
not being thankful (v.21).
v.27) “Recompense” means to repay with an equal payment to what is deserved. The
reprobate mind and sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS) that these people contract
are “meet” (or “equal to”) for the wicked sins that they have committed.
v.28) Modern versions change this to say, “they did not retain the knowledge of God”
or “they did not acknowledge God.” Both translations hide the true meaning of the
word of God. Wicked men WANT God out of their minds (knowledge). When they
push God out of their minds He gives them a reprobate (meaning “abandoned to
wickedness”) mind.
*God gave up their body (v.24), their soul (v.26), and their spirit (v.28). See
Jeremiah 6:16-19.
v.29) The word “malignity” means “extreme hatred towards someone without being
provoked; deep rooted spite.”
“Maliciousness” means “having a very, evil attitude toward others with intention to
injure.”
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5. v.30) “Despite” is a “violent hatred” similar to maliciousness and malignity.
v.31) “Implacable” means “unwilling to come to a peaceable agreement.”
v.32) The root of all evil is SELF-WILL. There is a fallen nature deep inside every
man that rebels against EVERYTHING that God tells him to do. Rebellion and self-will
come from the devil (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Chapter 2
v.1) When you condemn another man, you condemn yourself because you are just
like him. Be VERY merciful when you judge and do not think that you are “better”
than him. Most men accuse Adam for causing the fall of the human race. But if you
were the first man on Earth, then you would have been the one that caused the fall
(see vv. 21-24).
*When a man passes judgment, he proves that he knows right from wrong. In this
way, the man condemns himself.
v.2) Psalm 19:9
v.3) Men think that they themselves will escape judgment while other men will be
judged (Galatians 6:7). Ecclesiastes 8:11 explains why men think that they will
escape judgment. It is because there is some time between their sin and God’s
judgment.
v.4) To bring a man to repentance and salvation many times God puts the man
through great suffering and problems. Through these problems the man looks to God
because the man believes God is the only One that can help him. Through this
affliction the man comes to receive Christ as his Saviour. God has been good to the
man by “bringing” him to repentance with the problems, but from the man’s point of
view he suffered very much. The wise man will say, “It was good for me to be
afflicted because it has brought me salvation” (Psalm 119:71).
v.5) The word “impenitent” means, “refusing to repent.”
*The “day of wrath” is the 2nd Advent and the Battle of Armageddon: Job 21:29-30;
Psalm 110:5; Isaiah 13:9,13; Ezek. 38:19; Zeph. 1:15; 2 Pet. 2:9; 2 Pet. 3:7; Acts
17:31; Rev. 6:16-17
v.6) This is a reference to salvation that involves works. It is related to a Gentile
following his conscience and God revealing light to him. It is connected to the
Tribulation and Millennium. During these two periods works that a man can do will
be involved in his salvation (Rev. 20:11-15). However, during the present “Church
age” this is NOT the case. Today, salvation is only based on receiving the finished
work of Jesus Christ. It is NOT based on the good works that a man does (Rom. 4:5).
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6. v.7) How does God handle a man that lives in a place where no one knows or
preaches the true plan of salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ? God puts that
Gentile man under a system of Conscience (Acts 13:48). That man must seek eternal
life by patient continuance (good works) because he has no opportunity to hear the
Gospel and be saved by grace through faith. If the man continues following his
conscience in well doing, then God is obligated to send that man more light (the
Gospel). God will send him a preacher (Rom. 10:14b) with the true plan of salvation.
Have you ever wondered how God decides where to send men to evangelize and be
missionaries? God sends the messengers to people that are following their
conscience. These people are seeking after Him and He allows them to find Him.
*If a man rejects the preaching when he hears the true way of salvation, then he
cannot go back under the system of conscience (works). He is fallen from grace.
The perfect example is the Gentile soldier, Cornelius. He followed his conscience,
but was not yet saved (Acts 10:1-4, 22; 11:14). God allowed no idols among the
Jews, but “winked at” the idols of the Gentiles because they did not have revelation.
Now that Jesus Christ has come all men are commanded to repent (Acts 17:29-31).
During the church age, a man cannot be saved without trusting the
blood of Jesus Christ. If a man follows his conscience and does the best he can
(good works), then God WILL send a preacher to the man with the Gospel.
vv.8-9) A man that refuses to follow his conscience puts out the light God has given
him and then God is not required to send a preacher to the man. You must accept the
light God sends you in order to receive more light.
v.10) The application here can go back to the tribulation and millennial saints that
must do good works as part of their salvation. But it also is a reference to the man
that follows his conscience and God sends him a witness so that he can get saved.
v.11) See Acts 10:34-35 – God has no respect for a Jew over a Gentile if the Jew does
not keep the law when the Gentile does keep the law (written in his heart-v.15). God
will COUNT a Gentile AS a Jew (v.26), if the Gentile follows that law written in his
conscience. However, that does not mean that a Gentile IS a Jew. There is still a
DIFFERENCE. The common ground between Jew and Gentile is spiritual IN Christ
(Gal. 3:28).
v.12) Lost Gentiles are still in need of salvation and are on the road to hell without
Jesus Christ.
v.13) Some Bible teachers say that this verse is a contradiction of Galatians 3:11.
However, this verse is a reference to a Gentile that God sends the Gospel to because
the man followed the law “written in his heart” (his conscience). See verses 7 and 15.
v.14) A good example of a Gentile doing “by nature the things contained in the law”
is Abimelech in the OT. He took Sarah into his palace because Abraham said, “She is
my sister.” But when he found out that she was Abraham’s wife he said that he would
not have taken her if he knew that she was married. How did he know that it was
wrong to take another man’s wife? He did not have the word of God or the 10
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7. commandments. He was a lost, heathen Gentile. His conscience taught him right and
wrong. The conscience is God’s law written in the heart. (Genesis 20:2-7)
v.15) A Gentile that does not have the law but obeys the law written in his heart is
better than a Jew that has the law and disobeys it.
v.16) God will judge what no man can see, the heart (secrets). In the OT, Samson
outwardly looked as if he went to hell, but evidently his faith (inwardly) was greater
than his outward evil works. Therefore, in Hebrews 11 Samson is in the list of great
OT saints that were saved. In the OT, you cannot tell who has the right amount of
faith and works. It is difficult to determine who was saved and who was not saved.
vv.17-18) Paul likes accusing the Jews of boasting about themselves being the ones to
whom God gave the law (see v.23).
vv.19-20) A Jew considers himself to know God better than the Gentiles because the
word of God was committed to the Jews (3:1-2). This was a fact in the OT, but when
the Jews rejected the Lord Jesus Christ they ceased to have the light. Now the
Gentiles have the light (Isaiah 60:3) and the Jews are blinded (Rom 11:25).
vv.21-23) This is Paul rebuking a Jew who is trusting the law to save him, but he is
breaking the law! A perfect example of a Seventh Day Adventist!
*NOTE on verse 22: The word "sacrilege” means “the act of blasphemy by worship."
In our modern day, people are professing to “worship God” with all manner of
ungodly music, ungodly dancing, false tongues, and other things that can be called
“sacrilege.”
v.24) This is one of the three ways God is blasphemed:
1) When a Jew disobeys the law - Rom. 2:21-23
2) When a servant disobeys his master - 1 Tim. 6:1
3) When a wife disobeys her husband - Titus 2:4-5
v.25) Being a Jew is good, if he keeps the law. If he breaks the law, then he might as
well be a Gentile. We must remember that the law does not save anyone during the
Church Age.
v.26) The purpose of Romans chapter 2 is to prove that a Jew is condemned just like a
Gentile. God will count a Gentile that keeps the law as better than a Jew that breaks
the law (Matt 11:20-21; Matt.12:41-42).
v.27) The Gentiles that keep the law condemn the Jews that break the law (see the
previous verses in Matthew).
vv.28-29) This is a reference to Gentiles being “SPIRITUAL JEWS.” But you must
be careful with how far you take this because there is a difference between a Jew and
a Gentile. A flesh and blood Gentile can never be a flesh and blood Jew. A Gentile
can never take the promises that God made to the Jews and steal those promises for
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8. himself. The literal Jew is discussed again in Romans 3:1-2 and a difference between
Jew and Gentile is high lighted.
Chapter 3
vv.1-2) There is no profit in circumcision in the area of salvation, but there is an
advantage to being a Jew because the word of God was committed to Israel (John
4:22; Acts 7:38). The OT was written to confound the Gentiles and the NT was
written to confound the Jews.
v.3) A man that refuses to believe God does not injure God. It means nothing to God
at all. For example, what if a man does not believe in Hell. Does that mean that hell
disappears and is no longer there? Of course, it does not mean that. The Bible says
that there are only two types of people: 1. People that believe God and, 2. People that
do not believe God (Ex. 9:20-21; Acts 28:24).
v.4) This is a loose quote of Psalm 51:4. However, in Psalm 51 God is judging and in
Romans 3 God is BEING JUDGED! In the day of Judgment, God will allow men to
question why He did some things and God will show Himself to be righteous
(vv.4,19,26). Luke 20:26 is a good example of God answering for Himself in the Day
of Judgment.
v.5) God is not unrighteous in any way (Neh. 9:33; Ps. 119:68).
v.7) Our abundance of sin does not magnify God’s perfection “unto his glory.”
People were saying that Paul taught this false teaching (v.8), but he was not.
v.8) Paul was hard on these people because they were accusing him of false doctrine
(2 Tim. 4:14).
v.9) Even with the advantage of verse 2, a Jew is still not better than a Gentile.
v.10) Depravity extends to all parts of a human being except the will of a man. The
“will” is the part of a man that is his ability to make choices. John Calvin taught that
man was so depraved that he could not make good choices. In other words, the man
could not choose to receive Jesus Christ because his “will” was depraved. Calvin’s
teaching is heresy.
v.11) God came seeking sinners (Luke 19:10). Man is not seeking God. Man is
hiding from God, like Adam and Eve hid in the Garden of Eden after their sin (Gen.
3:9,10).
v.12) Some people try to do well to others, like the RCC and Mother Theresa. But
why are they doing well? It is to work their way to heaven without trusting in Jesus
Christ to save them. Their good works are from a bad motive of trying to become
self-righteous. God does not accept them or their righteousness the same way He did
not accept Cain’s sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-7; Isaiah 64:6).
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9. vv.13-15) Man’s depravity covers these things and more. See Acts 28:27 (ears and
eyes), Isaiah 1:15 (hands), Jer. 17:9 (heart ), Titus 1:15 (mind and conscience).
*But depravity does not extend to the will! Even in the OT, people that were not born
again still had a free will to do what God told them to do (Ex. 35:5,21-22,29).
v.17) Everyone wants peace in the world, peace in their country, peace in their home,
and peace in their hearts. But the Bible is clear that RIGHTEOUSNESS must come
before peace can come (Is. 32:17, James 3:18, Heb. 7:2).
v.18) This is a “general description” of all unsaved mankind. The reason lost men do
not fear God is because their father, the devil, (John 8:44) does not fear anything. See
Job 41:33,34.
v.19) No excuses will be tolerated when standing before God for judgment. The
mouths of those that mocked God and ridiculed Jesus Christ will be stopped!
v.20) This verse shows that a baby or small child that does not have knowledge of
good and evil is not counted “a sinner” in the sight of God. They are innocent like
Adam and Eve were innocent in the Garden before they took of the tree that gave
them this knowledge. When the Hebrew spies went to spy out the land of Canaan the
children that had no knowledge of good and evil were not held accountable for that
sin. They were innocent and God allowed them to survive the 40 years of wandering
in the wilderness ( Deut. 1:39). They were allowed to go into the promised land with
Joshua and Caleb.
vv.21-22) Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to get God’s righteousness (Rom.
10:3,4; 2 Corinth. 5:21).
v.23) If a man drowns in water 10 meters deep or 3 meters deep does not matter.
What matters in that he “came short” of reaching the top of the water. Some men may
be living better than others, but ALL come short of sinless perfection. See Eccl. 7:20.
v.25) “Propitiation” is “a gift to satisfy anger.”
* Every time the phrase “remission of sins” appears it is talking about past sins (Mark
1:4, Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:38). These baptisms are BECAUSE OF REMISSION of
sins, not IN ORDER TO remit sins.
EXAMPLE: A man in jail “for stealing” is not in jail in order to steal, but because of
stealing. Because sins were remitted in the past there was a baptism in Mk. 1 and
Acts 2.
Hebrews 9:13-15 - The blood of Christ was shed to give forgiveness to us who were
in the future and for the remission of the PAST sins of OT saints. In the OT, no sin
was taken away, no guilt was cleared , and no sin was redeemed (Ex.34:7).
v.26) God’s problem was how to justify a wicked, filthy sinner and still be a perfect,
holy and just God. God wants to justify EVERY man, but He will not do wrong in
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10. order to accomplish that (1 Kings 8:32; Job 33:32). The only way was for God to
provide Himself as the Lamb to take away the sin (Gen 22.8).
v.27) Compare with Eph. 2:8,9; 1 Corinth. 1:29.
v.28) This verse is an apparent contradiction of James 2:21-25, if you do not rightly
divide. This verse in Romans is speaking of the OT law, but the two people that were
justified by faith and works in James 2 were not under law. The work that Abraham
did in order to be justified in Genesis 22 was that he obeyed God by offering up his
son Isaac as a sacrifice. This was before the law of Moses was ever given in Exodus.
Rahab hid the Hebrew spies. She was a Gentile that did not know the Jewish law
when she was justified. Remember, “ A person is saved by doing what
God tells him to do, in the dispensation in which he is living.” God told
you to trust only in Jesus Christ, and he told Noah to build a boat. You must rightly
divide. God will not justify you if you hide spies or climb a mountain to offer your
son (Isaac) on the altar.
v.31) There is nothing wrong with the law. The problem is with us (man). Because
of man’s wickedness, he cannot keep the law completely and be saved by the law
(Gal. 3:13,21-22; James 2:10).
Chapter 4
vv.1,2) Abraham’s salvation is very unique in the scripture. He was justified in
Genesis 22 when he offered up Isaac. James 2:21-26 shows us that Abraham was
justified by faith and works. But “…no man could be justified by the works of the
law in the sight of God…” See Galatians 3:11. Abraham lived before the law and his
works that wrought with his faith WERE NOT the works of the law. Rather, his
works were the works God told him to do during that time period!
Abraham received imputed righteousness in Genesis15 when he believed God. That
is the subject of Romans chapter 4. A NT saint receives justification and imputed
righteousness at the same time (the time of his salvation). This is another proof that
salvation in the OT was different than salvation in the NT. Exodus 34:7 says that an
OT saint that was “forgiven” did NOT have his guilt cleared. WHY? Because he was
waiting on the blood of Jesus Christ to be shed on Calvary. This is the reason OT
saints went to “Abraham’s bosom” or “Paradise” in the heart of the earth (see Luke
16:19-31) instead of going directly to heaven (Eph. 4:8-10).
v.3) Gen. 15:1-6
v.4) Salvation is by grace. God does not owe it to you because of something you have
done. It is not His debt being paid to YOU! Even the OT saint that was saved by
faith AND works had an element of grace in His salvation because God did not have
to be troubled with the sinner at all. God could have been perfectly just by letting all
men go to hell. That is what we deserve. Men think far too highly of themselves.
They think that God owes them salvation. He does not owe them salvation. He owes
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11. us judgment and hell, but He is longsuffering and tender in mercy. Without the grace
of God, we would all be hopelessly lost.
v.5) The thing that fallen man needs is imputed righteousness. Man does NOT have
righteousness without Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 10:3-4; 2 Corinth. 5:21). A man
can only be COUNTED righteous by faith in Jesus Christ ONLY!
*The German Reformer, Martin Luther, went too far with this verse and taught that if
your faith produced ANY works at all, then it was the wrong kind of faith. This is a
fanatical, extreme, false teaching. According to Ephesians 2:10, God ordained that
we should walk in good works after we are “in Christ.” Martin Luther did not have
the proper balance on his teaching of this verse. You must be balanced and remember
the middle place between two extreme points is normally the right teaching.
vv.6-8) “Imputed” means to put on a person’s account. The quotation is from Psalm
32:1-2, but notice the loose quotation by the Holy Ghost leaving out the words
“without works” in the OT. This righteousness does not mean that you are not
sinning, but that the sins are not being put on your account. It is similar to the way
that God “beheld no sin” in the wicked nation of Israel during the time of Balaam and
Balak (Numbers 23:7-8,18-22; Micah 6:5).
vv.9-10) See Gen. 17:9-14. Abraham was counted righteous BEFORE he was
circumcised. His faith in God was manifest before he was circumcised. In this way,
he could be the father of both Jews and Gentiles (see v.12).
v.11) Circumcision was a sign and a seal. The Jews required a sign (1 Corinth. 1:22).
v.13) Gal. 3:16–18 – The Jew is promised the entire earth AFTER the rapture, but this
promise is not through the law. The promise came BEFORE the law when Abraham
put faith in the word of God (Gen. 15).
v.15) The law brings a curse (Gal. 3:10). Without the law or the knowledge of the
law there is no sin (Rom. 3:20).
v.17) God can predict the future. When Israel was not in her land God said they
would be gathered and it came to pass in 1948. God called the thing which “was not”
BEFORE IT HAPPENED. He said that Abraham was the father of a great nation
before he ever had a son.
v.18) The five stages of Abraham’s Faith:
1. Against hope believed in hope (v. 18)
2. Not weak in faith (v. 19)
3. Staggered not through unbelief (v.20)
4. Strong in faith (v. 20)
5. Fully persuaded (v.21)
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12. **Different kinds of faith in the Bible:
1. Common Faith (Titus 1:4) – the body of revealed truth
2. Human Faith (Mark 11:22) – any belief in anything
3. Divine Faith (Rom. 12:3) – every man has enough to be saved
4. Mental Faith (Jam. 2:14) – an effort in your mind to believe something whether it
is true or not true
5. Historical Faith (1 John 5:10) – believing a proven record
6. Little Faith (Matt. 6:30) – self-explanatory
7. Wavering faith (James 1:15) – doubting one day and believing the next day
8. Unfeigned Faith (1 Thess. 2:13) – very sincere
9. Active Faith (1 Thess. 2:13) – leads you to do something
v.19) This is a great TRUTH. The fact is that Abraham and Sarah were both dead as
far as the natural ability to conceive a child and God worked a miracle. But Abraham
did not consider the “deadness” because of the promise of God. He had “STRONG
FAITH” (v. 20).
v.21) “Fully persuade” means that Abraham was totally convinced that God would do
what He said He would do.
v.22) A man gets imputed righteousness by believing what God said.
vv.23,24) The record of Abraham is for our edification (Rom. 15:4). Abraham’s
righteousness is a type or picture of our righteousness. Our righteousness is based on
believing on Jesus Christ. “If you believe God, then you condemn yourself and
justify God. If you don’t believe God, then you justify yourself.”
Chapter 5
This chapter compares Adam’s death with Christ’s death.
v.1) One of the surest proofs that salvation is true is the peace of God that you receive
in your heart when you are sure you are saved.
v.2) “Grace” is several things in the Bible and here it is the “peace” of verse one.
*The “hope” is usually a reference to the Rapture.
v.3) The Christian life is a peculiar, backwards life in which you gain by losing (Matt.
16:25), increase by scattering (Prov. 11:24), live by dying (Gal. 2:20), and receive by
giving (Luke 6:38). So it is not strange to see Paul “glorying in tribulation.” It
usually the problems in a man’s life that bring him closer to God.
*The definition of “patience” is: “perseverance; constancy through labour or
problems.” The most patient man in Bible is Job (James 5:11) because he had the
most problems.
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13. v.4) “Experience” is what you get when you are looking for something else. It is
“dealing with trouble.” When you have seen enough trouble that has been turned into
good by the Lord (Gen. 50:20), then you have “hope” because you have seen God
“work” in the past.
v.5) When a man hopes in God he is not disappointed.
*The Holy Spirit teaches you to love God.
v.6) For the “due time” see Gal. 4:4. Jesus Christ was to come at an appointed time.
The sun was created on the 4th day of the creation week. This matches the Son of
God appearing after 4,000 years of human history (or 4 days of human history – 2
Peter 3:8).
v.7) A “righteous man” is a man that is keeping the law and he is OUTWARDLY
righteous. But “a good man” is INWARDLY good. An average, common man
would not want to die for either one.
*The word “scarcely” means “few in number, rare.”
v.8) Christ did not die for righteous men or good men. He died for wicked, ungodly,
vile sinners like you and me.
v.9) “Through faith in his blood” – compare 3:25 with 5:1 and 5:9.
*The 3 Parts of Sanctification:
1. You were saved from the punishment of sin. (PAST)
2. You are now being saved from the power of sin. (PRESENT)
3. You will be saved from the presence of sin. (FUTURE)
v.10) This verse mentions all 3 Parts of Sanctification and verse 9 mentions two parts.
v.11) The word “atonement” means “two parties are made one that were at enmity.”
“AT-ONE-MENT”
v.12) Sin did not enter the world by the woman, Eve. Sin entered the world by Adam
because a woman does not have the seed. For sin to enter the race it had to be through
a man. If Adam had not sinned willfully, then the curse would not have passed to the
human race. He could have refused to sin, but he chose the love for his wife over the
love for God.
v.13) The innocent (babies, small children, mentally retarded, etc.) are not held
responsible for their sins. They do commit sins and THEY STILL DIE! But sin is
not imputed to them or “put on their account.”
· The Gentiles that have not heard the word of God have the law of God written in
their hearts (2:15) and are WITHOUT EXCUSE (1:20).
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14. v.14) Beginning in Genesis 5:1 sin and death began to rule men. Death and sin still
rule the unsaved people and righteousness rules the saints (6:12).
*Adam was a figure of Christ (1 Corinth. 15:22, 45-47; Eph 5:31-32). There are only
two kinds of people in the world: 1. The descendants and heirs of Adam and, 2. The
descendants and heirs of Jesus Christ.
vv.15,16) The offence of Adam and the gift of Jesus Christ are not equal. Adam
sinned and everyone after him is a sinner by nature. Jesus Christ did not sin, but
“many offences” abound in His followers. His disciples are not sinless until the day
of redemption (Eph. 4:30).
v.18) Salvation is a “free gift” in the New Testament church age (Rom. 6:23; Eph.
2:8,9).
v.19) We will be made totally righteous in the future. Sin is still working in our
bodies for now and it is bringing forth fruit unto death. This is because we are still
“geographically” in the flesh (Rom. 7:5). The part of us that does not sin is our soul
(1 John 3:9).
v.20) The law was given to reveal sin, not to save us from sin. The law highlights
sin. Even with all the sin that abounds in our lives, God’s grace is even more than the
sin.
v.21) The righteousness is given or imputed by God because a sinner believes on
Christ (Rom. 4:5). This is not a man doing righteousness, like a man did under the
OT law (Luke 1:5,6).
Chapter 6
· This is the first of three chapters that deals with doctrine. This chapter deals
with Christ’s death in relation to the Christian.
vv.1,2) No Christian can “live in sin” because he is dead and free from sin (vv. 7,8).
It is a question that does not expect an answer called “a rhetorical question.” It is
impossible for a Christian to be “in sin.” He is now in Christ. But many Christians
yield their physical members to unrighteousness (v.13).
v.3) There is no WATER baptism in the whole chapter! This is the baptism that
places you into Christ (and His death). It is spiritual baptism (1 Corinth. 12:13).
v.4) This verse is often quoted at water baptism services and that is fine IF you
understand that DOCTRINALLY it is spiritual baptism. “Good preaching is not
always good doctrine.” In other words, preaching is usually a devotional application.
That means that a verse that means one thing doctrinally might be used devotionally
to prove a different doctrinal point than the Lord intended in the verse.
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15. *Example: John 12:32 preached as “praising the Lord,” when it actually means Christ
“lifted up” on a cross (not in praise).
· Burial in water baptism is a PICTURE of the spiritual baptism by the Holy
Spirit. In order for water baptism to be a figure of the death, burial, and
resurrection it MUST be by immersion (1 Peter 3:21).
v.5) The day that you were saved you died with Jesus Christ and you were buried with
Him and risen again. This literally happened to you by a spiritual process of being
placed into Jesus Christ’s body.
v.6) Faith in this fact will give a saved man victory over sin. Your old, sinful nature
is DEAD and CRUCIFIED. Does a dead man sin? The sinful deeds done by a
Christian are services rendered to a dead man. Those sinful works profit him and
everyone else NOTHING!
v.7) The picture is that we are dead on the cross. But the PROBLEM is that we do
not reckon (consider) ourselves to be dead unto sin (v.11). An unsaved man is
controlled by sin and has no choice but to sin. He is a slave to sin, but a Christian is
FREE from sin. Therefore, you do not have to sin anymore. When a Christian sins
after salvation it is his choice to rebel against God and forsake the abundant life (John
10:10).
v.8) The “if” is rhetorical. We ARE dead with Christ.
v.10) Christ died “for” sin and “unto” sin. He freed us from the power of sin.
v.11) The word “reckon” means “to esteem or reason with one’s self that a thing is
so.”
· When Christ died His relationship to sin ended, and that is the STANDING of
a Christian. We are already dead TO sin (7:17,20,23), but sin is not dead yet.
When your flesh screams that it is being mistreated, just remind it that it is
dead to sin. One of the first signs of Christian maturity is self-denial and
thinking about the needs of OTHERS before your own needs.
v.12) The word “mortal” means dead in the verse. If you sin as a Christian you are
“letting” sin rule you. You are not forced to sin and you are not controlled by sin. It
does not have the PULL it used to have on you.
v.13) your “members” are defined as “anything that protrudes from the trunk of your
body.” This verse means that YOU are responsible to yield your members in the right
way (meaning to God). You cannot say, “It is just the way I am,” when you sin. You
cannot say that, “The devil made me do it.” NO! The problem is YOU. You are
yielding yourself to SIN.
v.16) Christians try to fight against sin when the key is to yield or give way to
righteousness. Then they give way to not praying when they should be fighting or
wrestling in prayer. Jesus Christ had prayer and strong crying before he went out and
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16. faced sin. If we wrestled more in prayer it would be easier to give way (yield) to
righteousness.
v.18) A Christian has traded the old master for a New Master.
v.19) The same way you saved sin before you were saved (WITH YOUR WHOLE
HEART) is the same way you should follow righteousness.
v.21) There is no profit in the old, wicked life. So do not go back into it (Gal. 4:9).
v.22) God has already made it possible for a Christian to live a sinless life, but none
of us do it. This is because we do not really believe the old man is dead (v.6), we do
not reckon him to be dead (v.11), and we yield our members to the wrong things
(v.13). The choice is ours. God has made all the provisions.
v.23) This is a great verse. Sin brings death, both physically and then spiritually.
There is a second death (Rev. 20:14–15; 21:8). Salvation is a “free gift.” You cannot
work for it. You cannot pay for it by what you do. It has been paid for and the work
is complete. A lost man must receive salvation through Jesus Christ without working.
· There are only two religions in the world. In one religion the people are
DOING something to be saved, and in the other religion people trust what was
DONE (by Jesus Christ). Every religion and “church” falls into one of those
two categories. Those are the only two religions. One says, “DO,” and the
other says, “DONE!”
Chapter 7
This chapter is about the death of the Christian in relation to the law.
v.1) The law that they should have known that is discussed in the following verses is
found in Deut. 24:1-5. The law is about marriage, divorce, and remarriage.
v.2) One way that a person can be loosed from a marriage lawfully is by the death of
their mate.
v.3) Some people wrongfully teach that even if a man and woman are divorced (Deut.
24:1-3 bill of divorcement), then they cannot remarry a different person without
committing adultery. They say that the ex-husband or ex-wife must die before there
can be a remarriage. THIS IS NOT TRUE! This verse in Romans is talking about a
married woman stepping out with another man and having union while she is married
to her husband. This makes her an adulteress. If her husband is dead OR if she is
divorced from her husband, then she is free. She is not committing adultery if she
remarries after she is free (1 Corinth. 7:27-28).
Deut. 24 says that if a man gives his wife a bill of divorcement and another man takes
her to be his wife, then she can never go back to her first husband. If she does, then it
is adultery. That shows you how “binding” the remarriage is in the sight of God
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17. (EVEN if the ex-husband is living). Remember: a marriage is not just a certificate or
a ceremony or a ring. The Roman Catholic Church has corrupted our thinking about
marriage.
A MARRIAGE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD IS:
1. Physical Union – Eph. 5:31
2. Commitment to remain married for life – Matt. 1:18 –25
3. Public Announcement of the commitment – Rom. 12:17
REMARRIAGE IS ONLY PERMITTED FOR THREE REASONS:
1. Death - Rom. 7:1-3
2. Desertion – 1 Corinth. 7:15; Matt. 18:15-17
3. Fornication – Matt. 19:3, 7-9
v.4) In this verse, the flesh (body) is likened to a man, and the soul is likened to a wife
(See Ps. 34:2 for a reference to the soul as female). The soul and body are joined like
a husband and wife are “one flesh.” But when the person of Jesus Christ (the Holy
Spirit) enters your soul at salvation, then your soul and body are separated. At
salvation, the soul is spiritually circumcised from the body and joined (or married) to
the person of the Holy Spirit, “Christ IN YOU” (Col. 1:27; Col. 2:10-13). Spiritual
circumcision is the surest proof of Eternal Security.
v.5) Geographically, your soul is still inside your body. But spiritually, your soul is
cut loose from your flesh and placed IN Christ (Rom. 8:9-11; 2 Corinth. 10:3).
v.6) We are delivered from the law by death (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 3:13). No one becomes
sinless and perfect at salvation. If we did become perfect, then we would never die
(7:24).
v.7) The law is the schoolmaster that brings us to Christ (Gal. 3:24; Rom. 7:12). The
law is like a mirror. It can show you the dirt on your face, but it cannot clean the dirt
off your face.
v.8) The word “concupiscence” means “all manner of outrageous sin” or “sin gone
wild.”
v.9) This is NOT a reference to anyone being saved before the law. When Paul says
he was, “…alive without the law once…” he is talking about being INNOCENT, as a
child. Before a child has knowledge of the law of “good and evil” he is “ALIVE.” In
other words, a child that dies in an innocent state is not guilty of the law and sin is not
imputed to him (see notes on 5:13 and read Deut. 1:39). There is a difference
between knowing right and wrong versus having knowledge of good and evil.
Knowledge of good and evil is the understanding that the sins you are committing are
AGAINST GOD HIMSELF! A little child might know that it is wrong to hit his
brother, but he does not understand when he sins against the Creator of the universe.
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18. v.10) For the phrase “…ordained to life…” compare Rom. 10:5 and 2 Corinth. 3:7-11
v.11) By the law Paul was “slain.” Like Adam and Eve, Paul was brought to
accountability and spiritual death by the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge
came from knowing “the law.” The tree brought this knowledge to Adam and the law
brought it to Paul (Eph. 2:1,5; Col. 2:13).
v.12) Some people say that the commandments are useless and evil, but Paul quoted
some of them in the NT (Rom. 13:9). They were written for our learning (Rom.
15:4). However, it is true that the law cannot justify a man (Gal. 3:11) or clear his
guilt (Ex. 34:7).
*The main thing to remember about rightly dividing between the OT and the NT is
this: If the OT verse does not go “against” a clear NT verse, then it can
apply to a NT Christian. But never overthrow a clear NT verse with an
OT verse.
v.13) Here we find a great purpose for the law being given: “THAT SIN MIGHT
BECOME EXCEEDED SINFUL.” The law highlights sin. It does not save from
sin. But the law is not COMPLETELY done away with. It is only done away with
“for righteousness” to the ones that trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour (Rom
10:3,4).
v.14) Gal. 5:17
v.15) If you preach “all the counsel of GOD (Acts 20:27),” then you can be sure that
you will directly hit your own sins in your preaching. You will not “allow” many of
the things that you do yourself.
v.16) The problem is not the law. The problem is SINFUL MAN.
v.17) The real YOU (the new man) wants to do right. The flesh wants to sin. Most
people do not realize that the flesh is not the REAL person. The flesh is only the
covering for the soul. The REAL you is your soul and the soul cannot sin after you
are saved (Gen 2:7; 1 John 3:9).
v.18) Matt. 26:41 – There may be a willingness to do right, but you need to
PERFORM the right.
v.19) Paul had a great evidence of salvation. He had a desire to be sinless. If your
heart hurts when you sin and you are in the spiritual pain of conviction, then you have
one of the evidences of salvation.
v.20) This verse is very much like 7:17.
v.21) This law is not the OT law, but like the “law of gravity:” “What goes up, must
come down.” This kind of law is true every time and very NEGATIVE.
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19. v.22) In this chapter, Paul speaks about his own sinfulness. But it is clear that he is
not a lost man because a lost man does not delight in the law of God (1 Corinth.2:14).
Therefore, sin in your life does not mean that you are lost or that you have lost
salvation.
v.23) There are 4 “laws” in the passage:
1. Of God (7:22,25)
2. Of the Spirit (8:2)
3. Of the mind (7:23)
4. Of sin and death (7:23,25)
v.24) The new man (Christ in you, the Holy Spirit) is groaning like this to be
delivered from the sinful, wicked body of death (Rom. 8:23).
v.25) Thank God, Jesus Christ will deliver us. We have to be patient and wait on the
“BLESSED HOPE,” the Rapture. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinth. 2:16).
Chapter 8
This chapter is about the death of the Christian being Christ’s death. And it is about
the Christian’s death awaiting a certain resurrection.
v.1) The last ten words are removed from the verse in the modern corrupt versions.
They stop the verse at the words “Christ Jesus” because they do not understand that a
Christian can have condemnation for walking after flesh. This condemnation is not
eternal condemnation in hell. A Christian will never go to hell. The condemnation is
temporal, physical condemnation in this life as a result of living a carnal life (for the
definition of the word “carnal” see the note on 8:6).
It is wrong to say that there is never any condemnation for a Christian that lives a
carnal life. God will judge a Christian that lives a carnal life, but the condemnation is
never hell for a Christian. There is a temporary condemnation like in Romans 14:23
there is a temporary damnation (See also 1 Corinth. 11:29). This like Paul’s
admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16. And it is similar to the passage about
women being “saved” by child bearing (1 Tim. 2:14-15). This “damnation,”
“condemnation,” and “salvation” are not eternal, but physical. Of course, there is also
eternal damnation and eternal salvation, too. But we must understand the difference
between the temporary and the eternal in the above listed verses.
v.3) The flesh cannot obey the law perfectly. But Christ proved that HE could obey
the law perfectly and now we are in Him and He is in us.
“Do this the law commands but gives me neither feet nor hands.”
Jesus Christ’s flesh was not sinful, but in “the likeness of the sinful flesh.”
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20. v.4) The life that God wanted man to live by the law can be fulfilled when we walk
“in the Spirit.”
v.6) The word “carnal” means fleshly, temporal, worldly or sensual. The carnal mind
and fleshly mind are the same (Col. 2:18). This verse is referring to physical life and
death (8:13).
v.7) The two choices we have are the mind of Christ and the carnal mind (7:5; 12:2).
The mind is not the brain. The mind is the function of the brain.
vv.8,9) Verse 8 refers to a lost man and verse 9 to a saved man, but you can
devotionally apply verse 8 because we still have the old man. A saved man ( the soul
or REAL you Gen. 2:7) is no longer stuck to his flesh. It is impossible for a man to be
saved and not have the Holy Spirit.
v.10) Rom. 6:6
v.12) You owe the flesh NOTHING, so do not serve the flesh.
v.13) The body is already dead (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20). This verse tells us to put to
death “the deeds of the body” (Col. 3:5).
v.14) All saved people are led by the Holy Spirit, but most saved people refuse to
follow His leading. Some people use this verse to say that if God quits leading you,
then you have the lost the Holy Spirit and lost your salvation. Of course, that is not
true.
v.15) You can legally dissolve a marriage, but you cannot legally dissolve an
adoption. “Abba” means “my dear Father.” See Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5.
v.16) The commentators that correct the KJV say that “itself” is an error and
translation should be “himself.” But the Greek word for spirit is “pneuma,” which is
a neuter word and can be properly translated as “it.” That does not mean that the
Holy Spirit is not a real person.
In John 14-15, Jesus Christ refers to the Holy Spirit as “he” and “him.” But in John 3
the Holy Spirit is likened to wind. “The wind bloweth where it listeth…” The Holy
Spirit is not a bodily shape like a soul or a physical body. Therefore, sometimes He is
referred to as “it.” The Holy Spirit is a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11,12).
v.17) If you want to have an inheritance in the Millennial Kingdom, then you must
suffer for Jesus Christ during this life (2 Tim. 2:11–13). Some Christians have done
this by being martyred for Jesus Christ (Rev. 2:10). If you are not physically
persecuted, then the way to suffer for Christ is to deny yourself sinful pleasures (1
Corinth. 15:31; James 1:12).
Every Christian is glorified in the unconditional sense that goes along with salvation
(v.30). But the “glory” in this verse is conditional on suffering with Christ (2 Tim.
2:10; Phil. 3:10–11; 1 Corinth. 15:41). There is a calling for every saved person in
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21. Rom. 8:30. Then there is a high calling in Phil. 3:14 (note the suffering in Phil.
3:10).
v.18) There might be different stages of glory (2 Corinth. 4:17; 1 John 3:2; 1 Pet. 1:7).
v.19) This is not just referring to animals, but to all material creation (v.22). Not only
are Christians waiting to be manifested in glorified bodies as the Sons of God, but the
entire creation is groaning for the day that man is totally repaired (Isaiah 11:6–10).
Man is the main problem. When man gets fixed, then the whole creation will be
repaired.
*Another problem with the creation is that the ground is CURSED. The animals eat
of the ground or they eat other animals that eat of the ground. Man eats of the ground
and man eats the animals. Therefore, we are all cursed because the ground is cursed.
This problem will be fixed during the Millennium, too (Isaiah 35:1).
v.20) We did not choose to live in a sinful body and the animals did not choose to live
under this curse. The “same” refers to the “creature” and the creation. The “same”
are now subjected to the “hope.” Again, the “hope” is the rapture (vv. 23-24).
v.21) The “liberty” is ours, but the whole creation will enjoy it. The earth will be
regenerated (Matt. 19:28) at the time of “the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19-21).
The regenerated earth will be like the Garden of Eden. Man and animals will become
vegetarians (Hosea 2:18-23; Amos 9:11-15).
*The crown of thorns that Jesus Christ wore on the cross was for the curse on the
ground. Christ paid for the curse of Genesis 3 with His atonement. But we do not get
all the benefits of the atonement until the 2nd Coming of Christ at the regeneration of
the earth.
v.22) Floods, earthquakes, droughts, famines, tidal waves, tornadoes, hurricanes,
pestilence, etc.
v.23) We have a deposit, an earnest payment or “down payment” that tells us
everything will be all right in the end. This “earnest” is the Holy Spirit (2 Corinth.
5:5). At the time of your salvation, your soul was redeemed. But your body is not
redeemed until the rapture. The flesh is still the flesh (Rom.7:24).
v.24) We are not hoping that we are saved. We KNOW that we are saved (2 Tim.
1:12). The “hope” is Jesus Christ and His coming. Our bodies will be saved when He
appears and our salvation will be complete: body, soul, and spirit. That is the
HOPE we are saved by (Titus 2:12,13; 1 John 3:1-3).
v.26) The Spirit gives us patience (v.25). This “not knowing” for what to pray is very
different than the “model prayer” in Matthew 6:8-13. In Matthew, it was a physical
kingdom (of heaven) that was “the theme.” During the church age, it is the spiritual
kingdom (of God - Rom. 14:17) and we are so ignorant of spiritual things. We pray
for money when we need patience. We pray for carnal things when we need spiritual
things. But the Holy Spirit intercedes to the throne of God for us and Jesus Christ
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22. intercedes for us. Sometimes the greatest problem in your life becomes the greatest
blessing of your life.
*The Charismatics use this to prove their false tongues movement, but it actually
disproves their tongues. They say that the “groanings which cannot be uttered” are
the Charismatic blabber. The verse says that the groanings of the Holy Spirit
CANNOT be uttered (or spoken)!
v.27) The Holy Spirit takes your prayer and fits it to be “according to the will of
God.”
v.28) This should be a favorite verse for every Christian because there are so many
“things” in life that are hard to deal with. But God has given this verse that assures us
that “all things” work together for good. It is not just the good things in life that are
working together for good. “All things” work together for good.
*The modern corrupt versions say, “…God works for good..” Everyone knows that
God works for good, but this verse tells us that the “things” in our life, whether they
are good or bad, are working for good. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE!
*This is a promise to all saved. The saved are the “called” of vv.29-30.
v.29) No one is predestinated to be saved. Many false teachers have taught that
predestination means that you are “predestined to heaven or hell.” NO! The passage
says that saved people are “predestined” to be conformed to the image of His Son
(Jesus Christ). God “foreknew” (to have knowledge of something before happened)
that certain people would receive Christ as their Saviour. God predestined that the
people that are “in Christ” would be glorified like Christ. Therefore, in the end we
will be exactly like Christ (Phil. 3:20-21; Matt. 22:28-30; Luke 24:36-40).
v.30) God calls every man to salvation (John 1:9; Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9). But most
men do not answer the call and based on their refusal to come they do not get justified
or glorified.
v.31) This is a reference to Eternal Security. God is “for” His plan to make us to be
just like Jesus Christ and no one can stop Him (vv.38-39).
v.32) James 1:17
v.33) God’s elect:
1. Israel - Isaiah 45:4; Matt. 24:31
2. Jesus - 1 Peter 2:6; Isaiah 42:1
3. Church - Colossians 3:12; Titus 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:4
4. Angels - 1 Tim. 5:21
v.34) The devil wants to condemn you, but when you get saved he is defeated because
you are “in Christ.” Jesus Christ defeated the devil (Colossians 2:15).
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23. v.35) Bad circumstances in life do not mean that God does not love you (v.39).
*Verses 35-39 are some of the greatest in the Bible on Eternal Security.
v.36) This is a quote of Ps 44:22. It is a verse referring to tribulation Jews being
sacrificed on the altar, but Paul applies it in Church age.
v.37) “All these things” is a reference to the things in v.35.
*The power to be a conqueror is “through him” (2 Corinth.4:7).
v.38) “Nor things to come” refers to the fact that nothing in your future can separate
you from the love of God (Phil. 1:6), not even your future sins.
v.39) This “love of God” is a reference to our Eternal Security and God’s plan of
eternal salvation.
WHY DO WE HAVE ETERNAL SECURITY?
1. Because the Father elected those that would be spiritually baptized into Christ.
2. Because of the union of the believer and Jesus Christ (1 Corinth. 12:13; Eph. 2:6).
3. Because of the interceding of Jesus Christ on our behalf (John 17:12; Heb. 7:25).
4. Because we are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:3-5).
5. Because we have the very righteousness of Christ Himself imputed to our account
(2 Corinth. 5:21).
IF WE ARE NOT ETERNALLY SECURE:
1. Then the plan of salvation and eternal life is a fraud. God gave NOTHING!
(John 5:24; John 10:28-29)
2. Then the promises are of no value (1 John 5:11).
3. Then the power of God would be limited (Hebrews 7:25).
4. Then Jesus Christ’s intercession means nothing (John 17).
5. Then you HAVE lost salvation and everyone else will lose it, too.
Chapter 9
*The content of this chapter covers predestination and the future. There is also a
comparison of Gospel privileges for Israel and the Gentiles. When we say “Gospel
privileges we are not referring to salvation. Salvation is the same for Jew and
Gentile.
v.1) The word “conscience” means “with knowledge.” Paul speaks of the conscience
many times (1 Tim. 4:2; Titus 1:15; Rom 2:15). A saved man has a double “guard”
on the way he lives: 1). The Holy Ghost, AND 2). His Conscience.
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24. *You can kill your conscience and make it totally ineffective. Many times the
DOUBT that makes you feel uneasy before you do an activity is your conscience
pleading with you NOT to do it (Rom 14:23).
v.2) Some people say that Paul contradicts himself in his writings by talking about
sorrow and heaviness here. The truth is that the Christian life is a paradox or a
seeming contradiction (2 Corinth. 4:8–12; 2 Corinth. 6:7–10). For the Christian, there
is joy in his heart and soul even in the deepest problems of life. For the lost person,
even when they are having a party, getting drunk, and laughing there is terrible sorrow
and fear inside them.
v.3) Notice: Paul said he “could wish” that he was accursed from Christ. He did not
say that he was accursed or that he actually could lose his salvation. He loved his
Jewish brethren so much that he could wish that he could perish in their place in order
for them to be saved. When you reach this level of spiritual maturity, then you have
the burden Jesus Christ has for lost souls because He did give Himself as the
sacrifice.
v.4) Notice that there is a difference between Israelites according to the flesh and
those in verse 6 that are “spiritually” related to Abraham by virtue of faith.
“The adoption” that is mentioned is the national adoption of Israel (Ex. 4:22; Isaiah
45:4).
“The glory” is in 1 Samuel 4:21. “The service of God” is the Levitical priesthood.
“The promises” are in Hebrews 6:12 and Hebrews 11:13.
v.5) The corrupt, English versions change “Christ came, who is over all.” Some
versions change the verse to say, “…according to the flesh is the Christ. God who is
over all…” This is an attack on the deity of Christ (meaning the doctrine that Jesus
Christ was actually God manifest in the flesh).
v.6) See Matthew 8:11-12. God elected the nation of Israel, but He did not elect the
individuals. There are physical Jews (Gal. 6:16; 1 Pet. 2:9,10). The SDA tries to
make himself a physical Jew and he has no understanding about how to be spiritual
Jew.
vv.7,8) The physical seed of Abraham that inherited the promises was through Isaac,
not Ishmael. But these verses show that NOT all physical seed of Abraham and Isaac
will be saved. However, all the spiritual seed of Abraham will be saved (Gal. 3:26-
29).
v.9) Gen 18:10
v.10) Gen. 25:21
v.11) The terrible heretic, John Calvin, used his verse to say that God “elected”
children to heaven or hell in “eternity past.” This means they have no CHOICE to get
saved or remain lost. God decided for them. This system makes God an unholy God
24

25. that says, “Believe on Jesus Christ,” but He has already condemned them and given
them no “free-will” to believe on Jesus Christ. Calvin’s teaching is obviously an
unbiblical, false teaching. The Lord will never command a person to do something
that is impossible for that person to do.
* “Election” is always found in the setting of time, NOT ETERNITY. The decrees of
God in verses 12-13 are made in “time,” not out in “eternity.” Salvation is not
mentioned in this passage and it is not the subject being discussed. This scripture is
discussing OT saints who were not “in Christ” and were not born again. There was
no new birth in the OT. A man in the OT could be forgiven on the basis of animal
sacrifices (works) plus his faith in God. This verse has nothing to do with salvation
and it does not support Calvin’s strange system of “God’s Eternal Decrees of
Salvation and Damnation.”
*To help you with understanding the passage, notice that verse 11 is in parenthesis.
Read verse 10, skip verse 11, and then read verse 12 to get a better understanding of
what is being said. Then go back and read all the verses consecutively (one after the
other).
v.12) Gen. 25:23 - The subject being discussed is “Who will serve whom?” NOT
SALVATION!
v.13) Malachi 1:2-3 - This was said many years after the two men had died. Many
people say that God loves everyone, but what about this verse in Malachi? They use
John 3:16 as their proof verse, but that verse says, “God so loved” in the past tense.
God showed His love to a lost world at Calvary and if a man does not meet God at
Calvary and come THROUGH Jesus Christ to the Father (John14:6), then God will
show His anger and hatred to that man (Deut. 7:9-10). “Jacob have I loved. Esau
have I hated.”
v.14) In John Calvin’s system, there is unrighteousness with God. But Calvin’s
system is not a true, Biblical system.
vv.15-19) The following verses are favorite verses for the heretical teachings of
hyper-Calvinism.
v.15) God shows mercy and His power regardless of a man’s will (v.16). The NT
application is that God shows compassion to those who trust Christ as their Saviour.
Calvinists use this verse to say that God has chosen some people to be the ones on
which he will have mercy and some people have been chosen to be condemned. But
God has chosen EVERY man to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). The problem is that most men
will not make the right choice to trust Christ as their Saviour.
*Notice that there is not mention in these verses of salvation, heaven, or hell.
v.16) Calvinists use this verse to support their heresy that man has no free will. But
this verse is referring to the fact that you cannot force God to have mercy on you
where He refuses to have mercy (John 1:13). In plainer words, God will have mercy
on a man that comes to Calvary, but there is no other place that God will meet a man
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26. and show that man mercy. God will not negotiate with your good works or church
membership as a way to pay for your sins and bring you under the mercy of God.
*The “running” could be a reference to Esau in verse 13. Esau was hunting a deer to
bring to his father, so that his father would bless him. But the will of God was for the
more spiritual man, Jacob, to get the blessing. Esau’s “running and willing” did not
change the will of God.
v.17) This reference comes from Exodus 9:13-16. The Calvinist uses this verse in
Romans to say that God raised up Pharaoh as an “unelected,” unsaved man to show
God’s power. They believe that God hardens (v.18) sinners so that they will not be
saved. However, the Calvinist never explains that Pharaoh hardened his own heart
against God (Exodus 8:32). If Pharaoh would not have hardened his heart, then God
would not have continued hardening Pharaoh. The problem is with man, not God.
*The verse does not and cannot mean what the Calvinist privately interprets. The
“purpose” mentioned is not the birth of Pharaoh, but his raising up to power. Pharaoh
could have submitted to God and gotten right with the Lord. You can change the
divine, eternal decrees of God by your will or your free choice (David in 1 Sam.23:9-
12).
* “The scripture saith” is an interesting statement. There were no scriptures written
when GOD said this statement to Pharaoh. In other words, the Holy Spirit used the
“scripture” in the place of the word “God.” This shows how closely related the Lord
is to His word. Galatians 3:8 also uses the word “scripture” instead of the word
“God” when referring GOD speaking.
*Calvinism says that God forces a man to make certain decisions based on the fact
that God KNEW what decision the man would make. But God’s knowledge of the
future does not mean that God is forcing people to do the things that He knew they
would do. It is like playing a game (like checkers) with God. God will beat you
because He knows all the possible moves, NOT BECAUSE HE CONTROLS
WHERE YOU MOVE!
*Acts 17:30 is another commandment for all men to repent. How could God
command all men everywhere to repent if He only elected a few that could repent? It
is impossible. Anyone can be saved.
v.18) God WILL have mercy on you (v.15), if you do not harden your heart against
Him.
v.19) Why was God finding fault with Pharaoh? The reason God found fault with
Pharaoh was because he resisted the will of God. We resist the will of God every
time we sin.
v.20) It is hard to believe that the creation can rebel against the Creator, but God gave
us that free will to make a choice. “The thing formed” is a reference to man’s
creation. Man was created in time, not eternity. This shows that “election” was not in
eternity past, but in TIME.
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27. v.21) This verse is not referring to God making a man that has been eternally elected
to “dishonour” and to burn in hell. That is the interpretation of Calvinism. There are
saved “vessels of dishonour” in 2 Timothy 2:20,21. The illustration of clay is a
picture of a man’s physical body. The clay (man) was formed in TIME, not eternity.
vv.22-23) Jeremiah 18:1-10 – The potter and clay are from the passage in Jeremiah
18. The context is about Israel and the fact that Israel’s repentance would lead to God
repenting of the anger that He has toward the nation (18:8).
*Notice that in verse 22 no one is said to be “afore prepared” unto wrath, but in verse
23 some people are “afore prepared” unto glory. The people in verse 23 are the ones
that are “in Christ” and God had foreknowledge that they would receive Jesus Christ.
*God uses man to exhibit His own attributes (characteristics). Animals cannot
experience love, obedience, eternity, justice, integrity, honesty, etc. God has chosen
to show His attributes to man and through man.
v.24) “Even us” refers to saved people “afore prepared” to glory. Unelect (Gentile)
people get saved while elect (Jewish) people are lost.
v.25) “Osee” is Hosea and the quote is from Hosea 2:23. The Gentiles were not
God’s chosen, elected people. God has called a people out from the Gentiles for His
name during the Church Age (Acts 15:14 the Bride of Christ, the Church.).
v.26) Hosea 1:10
v.27) Only a small remnant of the Jewish people will saved after they suffer great
tribulation in Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7; Rom. 11:26 - “all” of a remnant; Ezek.
14.22).
v.28) The “short work” can be a reference to Christ’s ministry and finished work.
The Jews had 1,500 years to get right with God and in three days and three nights the
work was FINISHED (John 19:30). However, it is primarily a reference to Christ’s
short work that He will do at the Battle of Armageddon in destroying the Antichrist
and his rebel nations. This is the short work of saving the Jewish remnant (v.27).
v.29) The Lord will leave a small remnant that will be saved. Sodom and Gomorrah
were completely destroyed with no one left alive.
vv.30,31) Again, we see the non-elect Gentiles being saved and elect Jews becoming
non-elect by rejecting Christ.
vv.32,33) 1 Peter 2:6-8; Deut. 32:18,30-31- All three of these passages say that a man
MUST believe. No one is foreordained to stumble at the Rock (Christ). They
stumble because they refuse to believe on Christ.
*The stone is like a cap stone on a pyramid, “the head of the corner.” The Jews
rejected that Stone.
27

28. Chapter 10
*The number 10 is the number of the Gentiles.
Genesis 10- Noah, “Father of the Gentiles”
John 10- Gentiles as the “other sheep”
Acts 10 – The Gentile Commission
Romans 10 – The missionary call to the Gentiles.
v.1) This prayer of Paul will be answered when the Lord returns (11:26). Paul always
had a burden to see his own people saved first. “The Jew first…” (Rom. 1:16)
v.2) “Zeal” is the burning desire of a man for a cause. In Christianity, zeal is NOT
enough. You must have knowledge of the TRUTH. If the apostles made up
everything about Christianity and it is all lie, then why were they willing to die for
these things? No man is willing to die for a cause that he knows is false and based on
lies. The reason they died for these things is because they knew that they were dying
for the truth.
v.3) THE REAL ISSUE IS RIGHTEOUSNESS! There are only two kinds of
righteousness: 1. God’s righteousness is Jesus Christ, 2. Man’s own self-righteousness.
Either you are trusting your own righteousness to save you or you are
trusting Jesus Christ to save you from hell.
v.4) The purpose of the law is to bring a man to Jesus Christ for salvation (Gal. 3:24-
25). After the law has brought a man to salvation by faith, then the need for the law is
finished in that man’s salvation (John 1:17). But those people that refuse believe on
Christ ONLY for salvation are still under the law. The law is for the purpose of
bringing men to Christ. It shows them that they cannot be perfectly righteous without
Him and His payment.
v.5) In the OT, a man’s salvation involved keeping the law AND having faith. Verse
6 says, “But…” This means things are different now.
vv.6,7) The righteousness of faith does not say, “I have to see Christ to believe.”
Faith is “believing something that you cannot see.”
v.8) This verse (and its wording) is one of the great proofs that OT salvation is
different than NT salvation. This verse is quoted from Deut. 30:14, but notice the
difference in wording. The OT says to “do it.” When you read Deut. 30:8-14, you
are told two times to keep God’s commandments and three times to “do it.” This is
important because in the OT a man was required by God to have FAITH AND
WORKS. “Do it” refers to doing those works. BUT NOTICE CAREFULLY that
in Romans 10:8, the word that is nigh thee is “the word of faith.” This is NT
salvation, by grace through faith WITHOUT WORKS! There is a difference.
*In the NT here in Romans, a man’s salvation is in his mouth. He needs to call upon
the Lord with a believing heart (10:13-14). To be saved, a man must believe that
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29. Jesus Christ can and will save him BEFORE the man calls upon the Lord for
salvation.
v.9) In order to give men faith about the resurrection, God gave more than 500
witnesses (1 Corinth. 15:6), and MANY infallible proofs (Acts 1:3).
v.10) Belief in the HEART is different than just knowing facts in your mind. Many
people know that Christ died and rose again, but that does not make them saved.
“Heart belief” is relying or “trusting in” or putting of your confidence in Jesus Christ
to save you from Hell and be your righteousness (vv.3-4). The confession of the
mouth simply manifests what is in the heart.
v.11) Being “ashamed” here is in reference to the judgment. Someone that trusts
Christ will not be disappointed or let down by Him when they stand at the judgment.
v.12) In the OT, the Gentiles had to convert to the Jewish religion in order to know
God. “Salvation is of he Jews” because the only, true God is “the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.” The Jews knew the true God while all the other nations were
worshiping idols, spirits, and ancestors. But now in the NT, everyone must come to
Jesus Christ for salvation. Jew and Gentile are equal and the only advantage that the
Jew has is that the scriptures were committed to them (Rom.3:1,2).
v.13) The prayer is not the thing that saves you. Coming to Jesus Christ with a
believing heart is what saves you (Rom. 10:14; John 6:37). You must come to Him
and TRUST Him to save you. You can come to Him through prayer, but the prayer
means nothing if you are not coming with faith in your heart. That is, you must
believe He is the only Saviour and that He can and He will save you. A man must
trust only Jesus Christ for salvation and repent of trusting every other thing that he
was trusting for salvation.
v.14) The order is simple and listed in reverse or backwards in the scripture. First a
preacher, then preaching, hearing, believing and calling. It starts with a preacher and
ends with the sinner calling upon the Lord.
v.15) Nahum 1:15; Eph. 6:15- A Christian’s feet are to be wearing the “preparation
of the Gospel.” In plainer words, you should ALWAYS be prepared to witness and
win a soul. You should never have to say, “I would have witnessed to him, but I did
not have tracts or a New Testament.” Solve the problem by always moving with
tracts and a NT or by being prepared with your mouth ONLY. Memorize all the
verses you need.
v.16) To “obey the gospel” is to believe. Some false teachers use this verse to say
that you must add works to the plan of salvation in order to OBEY, but it does not say
that. Romans 16:26 clears up the matter by calling this “the obedience of FAITH.”
Faith is not works!
v.17) The more you hear God’s word, the more faith you will have. Little
word=Little faith. Much word=much faith. No word=No faith. Expose yourself to
the word of God as much as possible. Attend every church service and special
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30. meeting that you possibly can attend, IF the word of God is being preached in truth
at the meeting. Going to the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses will NOT
increase your faith. It will destroy your faith.
v.18) The word of God has already been revealed all over the world by the creation
(Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1-6).
vv.19,20) This is referring to the Gentiles, but the particular nation is probably Rome
(70 AD).
v.21) The Bible is the only book in which the writers condemn their own nation and
themselves throughout the entire book. The Jewish writers of the Bible say more to
condemn the Jews than the Germans who killed six million Jews! This is another
proof that God wrote the BOOK.
Chapter 11
*This chapter covers Israel and the future.
v.1) The Jews are still God’s people and He has not cast them away permanently.
Paul, a Jew, got saved, but as a nation, Israel is blinded. Most Jews refuse to believe
Jesus Christ is their Messiah and Saviour. However, as a nation they are still God’s
people even though an individual Jew can go to hell (Matt.8:11-12). The rich man in
hell called Abraham, “Father” because the rich man was Jewish. (1 Thess. 2:14-16)
v.2) “Wot” is an Old English word for “know.”
*This verse is interesting because it is “intercessory prayer” AGAINST someone. We
always think of making intercession FOR someone.
v.3) This quote is from 1 Kings 19:10, 14. All the things Elijah said were true except
for, “I am left alone.” Christians are so self-centered and selfish that they think they
are ONLY ones having a hard life or the only ones who have been through a
particular type of problem (1 Corinth. 10:13).
v.4) This quote is from 1 Kings 19:18. The 7, 000 people are a picture of the Jewish
remnant that will be saved at the end of the tribulation. It could be the actual number
of the remnant of Jews that will survive the Great Tribulation.
v.5) During the church age a very, small number of Jews receive Christ and are saved
by grace through faith. This is the remnant that is discussed here. The majority of the
nation is seeking salvation by works (Rom.9:31-32).
v.6) John 6:29; Rom. 4;5; Eph. 2:8,9
v.7) The “election” refers to the small remnant of Jews saved during the church age
(v.5). Only a few Jews are saved during the church age, and the rest are blinded
(v.25).
30

31. v.8) Isaiah 29:10; John. 12:40-42
vv.9,10) Psalm 69:22,23 – This is figurative. The table being turned into a trap is the
picture of people expecting a feast but getting judgment.
v.11) This verse is used by false teachers to prove that people can lose their salvation
“by falling.” But the verse is not talking about a person who is in Christ falling. It is
referring to the temporary, national fall of Israel.
*The Amplified Version says in reference to Israel in 1 Thess. 2:16, “But God’s wrath
has come upon them at last-completely and forever!” THIS IS NOT TRUE. The fall
of Israel is NOT forever nor permanent. It is for a short time, until God finishes
dealing with the Gentiles (v.25).
*Salvation has come to the Gentiles through the fall of the Jews (Acts 28:28).
v.12) In the OT, the Jew was on top and the Gentile was on the bottom. Now, during
the church age, things are opposite. The Gentile is on the top and the Jew is on the
bottom. But when Jesus Christ the King comes to rule the whole earth it will be
wonderful for all of us when the Jew is back on top. The Jewish King, Jesus Christ,
will bring in the Millennium and the whole earth will be blessed through Him.
v.13) ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT VERSES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT to
help you understand how to “rightly divide the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) Paul
was talking to Gentiles as a whole, not only to saved Romans.
* “IN CHRIST” there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but outside of Christ there is the
division between Jew and Gentile. God still blesses the people that bless Israel and
He still curses the people that curse Israel (Gen. 12:3).
v. 14) The word “emulation” means envy or jealousy related to competition. Paul
hoped to make his Jewish brethren jealous of the Gentiles and the blessings that they
receive through Jesus Christ.
v.15) This verse predicts both a national and spiritual resurrection of Israel (Ezek.
37:1-4; Hosea 6:1-3).
v.17) “Some of the branches” refers to Israel in part. The “wild olive tree” refers to
the Gentiles. “The root” is Jesus Christ.
*Israel as an olive tree: Jeremiah 11:16; Isaiah 17:6; Judges 9:8-9
*Everything that we have as Gentile believers comes from the blessings of Israel
(Eph. 2:12,19-20). Our Saviour is Jewish (Matt. 27:37). Our Bible is Jewish with 40-
42 Jewish writers (Rom. 3:1-2). Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
that brought salvation to the Jew first (Rom. 1:16).
v.18) Do not boast against Israel because God is still fulfilling Genesis 12:1-3.
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32. v.19) Israel has fallen and the Gentiles have risen to favour with God (see v.11).
vv.20-21) If God broke off His own nation of Israel, then the Gentiles can fall out of
favour with God, too. At the end of the Church Age, when the Church is raptured out
of the earth, then the Gentiles will fall from favour with God. Verse 21 is primarily a
warning to lost Gentiles.
v.22) “Goodness and severity” show that God is balanced. God loves with perfect
love and hates with perfect hatred. God is love and God is a consuming fire.
*The Gentiles have not continued in His goodness, so God has begun to cut them off
from His favour. First they were “cut off” in Europe and the churches are now
monuments and memorials to a time when Christianity was alive there. Now the
Gentiles are being “cut off” in America due to compromise and backsliding.
Eventually, the Gentiles will be “cut off” worldwide. This is not referring to
individual salvation, but to the privileges that go along with loving the word of God
and the Gospel.
vv.23-24) You can graft branches into a tree and the tree can bring forth two different
kinds of fruit. Israel was the original branches. We Gentiles were grafted into the
tree. God is saying that when the Gentiles fall away it will be easy to put the original
branches back into the tree.
v.25) The temporary blindness of Israel is a “Great Mystery.” The blindness is partial
because a few Jews still get saved during the church age. A Gentile that thinks he has
replaced Israel is ignorant and proud.
*The SEVEN MYSTERIES are:
1. Blindness in part to Israel (Rom. 11:25).
2. God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).
3. Christ in you (Col. 1:27-28).
4. Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:25-32).
5. Babylon, the Great – The Roman Catholic Church as the Whore of Revelation
(Rev. 17:3-5).
6. The Antichrist – the mystery of iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7-12).
7. The Rapture of the Church (1 Corinth. 15:51-55).
v.26) The quote is from Isaiah 59:20,21. This is ALL of the remnant that will survive
the Great Tribulation (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; Zech. 8:6-15). Israel’s national salvation was
not at Calvary, but it will be in the future at the Second Coming of Christ. This will
take place at the end of the Tribulation Period and the beginning of the Millennium.
v.27) This has not yet happened. It is the national salvation and restoration of Israel
(Acts 3:19; Heb. 8:8-12; 10:17).
v.28) The Calvinist thinks the word “election” always refers to salvation and saved
people. This system is proven to be faulty in this verse. Unsaved Jews were elected
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33. by God and called “the election.” They are also called “enemies” of the Gospel.
They are lost, but they are called “the elect.”
v.29) God will keep the promises that He made to Abraham, but a lot of time will pass
between the making of the promise and the fulfilling of the promise.
v.30) In the OT, the Gentiles did not believe in the true God. They worshipped idols.
We obtained mercy through the unbelief of the Jews.
vv.31-32) God wants all men to receive mercy (2 Peter 3:9).
v.33) God’s ways are higher than our ways and what He has prepared for those of us
that are saved is more wonderful than we can imagine (Job 5:9; 11:7; Psalm 145:3; Is.
55:8-9; Eph. 3:8).
v.34) Job 21:22; Is. 40:13; Matt. 6:27; Eph. 4:13
v.35) God has given man everything that man has. God owes man NOTHING. Man
owes God EVERYTHING. You cannot out give God. Whatever you give to God
will always be returned with more added to it (Luke 6:38; Malachi 3:8-11). You are
not a disciple of Christ if you are not a generous giver. Jesus Christ GAVE
HIMSELF for you to be saved.
v.36) “to him” – Give your ALL to Him. All that you are and all that you have
belong to God. He is deserving and faithful to repay you (v.35).
Chapter 12
*This chapter is about the general attitude of the Christian in the Body of Christ.
v.1) “Therefore” is referring back to 11:35 and the fact that God will recompense or
repay the man that gives to Him.
*Salvation is NOT “giving your life to the Lord” or the Lord “coming into your life.”
Salvation is trusting Christ to save your soul from hell and He comes into your
BODY! After salvation, you present your body as a living sacrifice to God. God
does not need a lost man to “give his life to God.” A lost man has NO life in the sight
of God (Eph. 2:1) How can he give something that he does not have? God does not
need to come into your life because He is already working in the life of everyone,
even in the life of the Devil. People have a strange view of salvation.
*Salvation is coming to Jesus Christ and trusting Him to save you from Hell.
Discipleship is presenting your body as a living sacrifice to God.
*It would be unreasonable to sacrifice your body to anyone except Jesus Christ. It is
reasonable to give yourself to Him because:
1. The mercy you have already received (12:1).
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34. 2. You are already His property (11:36)
3. You will be blessed when you find His will for your life (12:2).
v.2) 1 Thess. 4:3-5- Finding God’s Will:
1. NEGATIVE: Be NOT conformed to this world.
2. POSITIVE: Be transformed by a renewed mind.
“A man who is a success is the one who finds what God wants him to do and does
it.”-Bob Jones Sr.
“The will of God is a sinless life. After that, everything takes care of itself.”-P.S.
Ruckman
*There is a good will that has bad motives and God will not accept it. There is an
acceptable will that is not perfect. And finally, there is a perfect will of God.
There are several groups of 3 like this in the Bible:
1. Good, 2. Acceptable, 3. Perfect
1. Called, 2. Chosen, 3. Faithful
1. Fruit, 2. More fruit, 3. Much fruit
1. 120 disciples in Acts One, 2. The Twelve, 3. Peter, James, and John (The Inner 3).
v.3) Faith and grace are measured out (Eph. 4:7). Every man has faith, but some men
have more faith than other men. Do not think highly of yourself and deceive yourself
that you have more faith than you actually have (see 11:25).
vv.4-5) 1 Corinth. 12:12-31
v.6) The faith, grace, and gifts differ with different people. But all members of the
body are needful.
v.7) This “wait on” is like to “attend to” something, not be delayed in waiting. It is
like a “waitress” that “waits on” customers at a restaurant.
v.8) “With simplicity” means simply GIVE. Pastors are the rulers in the local
churches. Many people show mercy with a bad attitude, but it should be done with
sincerity.
*There are three speaking gifts mentioned: 1) Prophesying or Preaching, 2) Teaching,
and 3) Exhortation. Very few men posses all the three gifts as speakers.
*There are four service gifts mentioned: 1) Ministering, 2) Giving, 3) Ruling, 4)
Showing mercy.
v.9) “Dissimulation” is like respect of persons or partiality to favorite people (Gal.
2:13). “Abhor” is “to hate or detest.” Paul preaches good works very often (vv.9-13;
13:6-10), but never did he preach that you must do good works in order to be saved!
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35. v.10) In plainer words, giving your brother in Christ the first place. Put him ahead of
yourself.
v.11) “Slothful” is slow moving or lazy. God’s business is reaching the lost world
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should not be lazy in this work. Our word
“fever” comes from this word “fervent,” which means, “hot.”
v.12) When tribulations come in your life (and they will come), then rejoice in the
Blessed Hope. Jesus is coming to get us soon and take us home! Do not quit or give
up on serving the Lord.
v.13) The truly, poor people in the local church should be helped, if their poverty is
not due to laziness (Rom. 15:25,26).
v.14) This verse is like Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount.
v.15) You should do this with other Christian because you are in the same body with
them (1 Corinth. 12:25-27).
v.16) For other references related to “Be of the same mind,” see 2 Corinth. 13:11;
Phil. 1:27; 1 Pet. 3:8.
* “Mind not high things” – Ps. 131:1
* “Be not wise in your own conceits” – Prov. 3:7. You may have some Bible
knowledge, but do not be boastful about it. Remain humble before God and man.
v.17) 2 Corinth. 8:21 – A Christian should be known as the most honest man in town.
Truth is what the Christian life is all about (John 17:17), and a Christian has no
excuse for being a liar. It is terrible to find so many “so-called” Christians stealing
church money and being continual liars.
v.18) This verse shows you that some men are impossible to live with in a peaceable
way. You are told to love the brethren, but there is a difference between loving
someone and living peaceably with them. You can love someone deeply, but hate his
or her behaviour. Many parents love their children, but they cannot “like” them at all.
There is a difference. If you cannot live peaceably with someone, then get away from
him or her. Sometimes this is the only way to have peace.
v.19) When you feel angry, step back from wrath instead of stepping up to it. If a
problem with a brother cannot be resolved by going to him and following Matthew
18:15-18, then just pray and let God handle the problem (2 Tim. 4:14).
v.20) You double a man’s condemnation be treating him well (Ps. 140:10). The first
part of this verse is like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
v.21) see v.9
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36. Chapter 13
*This chapter covers specific instructions on attitudes toward civil government.
v.1) God sets up the governments and governors (kings, presidents, ministers, police,
etc.) of this world (Dan. 4:17). The Lord has all the power, but He delegates the
power or loans it out. Many times the rulers that are ordained are evil like Nero (1
Pet. 2:17 – during the time of Simon Peter), Nebuchadnezzar, Bill Clinton, Adolph
Hitler, and many others.
*REMEMBER: God has allowed the Devil (2 Corinth. 4:3-4) to be the “god of this
world” during the present age (Matt.4:8,9). The Devil is called “the prince of the
power of the air (Eph.2:2).” God has “loaned” Satan the power to control the
kingdoms and governments of the present, evil world. Jesus Christ will take that
power back in armed, military warfare at the Battle of Armageddon.
*This means “the powers that be” that are ordained by God INCLUDE the Devil
(Luke 4:5-7) and wicked kings and leaders. God sets up the governments (Matt.
28:18) and allows them to rule, but He does not approve of their evil deeds. God uses
wicked rulers like Nebuchadnezzar to bring punishment on sinners that need
punishment.
*Jesus Christ is not LORD of the EARTH until Revelation 11:15 when He comes the
second time. The devil is over the earth until that time. This is why the world is a
terrible place with murder, adultery, war and all manner of evil. This will change
when Christ comes and sets up His Millennial kingdom.
v.2) God expects you to obey the rulers placed over you. The “damnation” mentioned
is not eternal. It is like the temporary damnation of 8:1.
v.3) God’s plan for government is to maintain law and order. Generally, if you do
right and obey the government, then you will have a fine and peaceable life. When a
ruler becomes a terror to good works, he loses his right to be obeyed (Acts 5:29) and
will not rule with the blessing of God. However, God ordained his position. We must
respect and honour the position, even if we cannot respect and honour the individual
that holds the position.
v.4) The government officials, ministers, and police are called “ministers of God.”
*Capital punishment or the death penalty for murder: 1. Before the law (Gen. 9:5,6);
2. Under the law (Ex.21:12); 3. Under grace (Acts 25:11).
v.5) You should pay your taxes and obey the government to stay out of jail AND to
have your conscience clear and without guilt before God.
v.6) “Tribute” is tax. Even the tax collectors are ordained by God (Luke 20:22-26;
23:2).
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37. v.7) “Custom” is like adapting to the culture where you are living. “When in Rome
do as the Romans.” It is like the “customs of the culture.”
* “Fear” is only to be rendered to God (Matt. 10:28).
*The exception to obeying the culture and government is when they go against the
word of God (Acts 5:28-30). Especially in preaching the word of God and the name
of Jesus Christ, you must obey God rather than man.
*Exodus1-The midwives disobeyed the government for God’s sake and God blessed
them.
*Daniel 6 – Daniel disobeyed the government for God’s sake and God blessed him.
*Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow and worship the image. They
said, “God can protect us, but if He does not protect us we will still obey.”
v.8) This is one of the most violated commands in the Bible. The only thing you
should owe man is love to your fellow Christian.
v.9) “Thou shalt not bear false witness” is omitted from the corrupt versions.
*When Paul lists the commandments in the NT he never includes the SABBATH
because it is an OT Jewish ceremony.
*The first and great commandment is to love God with all your heart (Matt.22:37-40)
and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep these two commands,
then you will have no problem with the other commandments. You will fulfill the
whole law.
v.10) If you love your neighbor as yourself, then you will not steal from him, covet
his property, etc. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
v.11) During our present age the Christians are sleeping instead of laboring. Many
Christians have the spiritual discernment of a sleeping man (1 Corinth. 15:34; Eph.
5:14; 1 Thess. 5:5,6).
v.12) “The day” refers to the Second Coming of Christ. Paul was expecting the
rapture at anytime. The “armour” is in Ephesians 6:10-18.
v.13) 1 Thess. 4:12 – “Chambering” is defined as “lewdness” and this is the only time
it is used in the English Bible. Lewdness is “the unlawful indulgence of lust,
fornication, or adultery.” “Wantonness” is “lack of restraint, lasciviousness,
recklessness.”
v.14) The flesh has five basic desires: 1. Self-preservation, 2. Appetite, 3. Dominion,
4. Procreation, 5. Rest. None of these things are bad in themselves, but they can be
misused or twisted into evil. One of the keys to doing right is moderation (Phil. 4:5).
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38. * “Make not provision for the flesh” means simply to put a step to the plans of your
flesh when you find the flesh planning to do evil.
Chapter 14
*This chapter covers principles that govern doubtful things.
v.1) Receive a weak brother, but do not argue with him about things.
v.2) The case here is a case of a Christian who does not eat meat and believes he can
only eat vegetables. The Bible says that the reason he believes he cannot eat meat is
because he is a “weak” Christian. The stronger Christian should not despise the
weaker Christian and the weaker Christian should not despise the stronger Christian.
v.3) If God receives you, then you should not care about men receiving you.
*Gen. 4:7- Cain was rejected by God and Abel was accepted. See 1 Corinth. 8:1 for
the problem with eating meat offered for idols.
v.4) REMEMBER: You are not the judge or master of your brother in Christ. Jesus
Christ is his Master and if the man is trying to obey his Master, then you need to close
your mouth. Many Christians are self-righteous and act like they are better than their
brothers. “ALL have sinned.”
v.5) Some Christians treat Sunday as a holy day, but the truth is that you should
worship and live for God EVERYDAY. This verse proves that the condemning
attitude of a Seventh Day Adventist is against the word of God. The word says, “Let
every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” In plainer words, if you worship on a
different day than your brother, then do not condemn him and try to force him to
worship on the same day as you.
*The important thing is to avoid a bad conscience. Be FULLY persuaded in your
own mind. If you are not “fully persuaded” that your actions are right, then change
your actions. Do not let your brother in Christ persuade you do to something that
your conscience makes you feel guilty about.
v.6) If you cannot ask God to bless the activity you are about to do and if you cannot
do it for His glory, then do not do it! Concerning doubtful things, ask yourself these
questions:
1 Does God receive glory from this activity?
2. Does it edify or build up anyone?
3. Can I ask the blessing of God to be on this activity?
v.7) Always remember that someone is watching you and if you stumble, then you
will cause someone else to stumble (Matt.18:5,6). A child’s hero is his father and the
father can build or destroy a child spiritually.
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39. v.8) If no one there to watch you, then remember that God is watching you
(Prov.15:3).
v.9) Here the word “Lord” is used as “the Controller of life.”
v.10) You should be careful in judging your brother because he has his own
conscience (1 Corinth. 10:29). The Christian’s judgment at the Judgment Seat of
Christ will sort things out (2 Corinth. 5:10). It is not your job to sort your brother out.
v.11) Is. 45:23; Phil.2:9-11.
v.12) It does NOT say that you will give account for your brother, your ancestors, or
your children, but for YOURSELF. One of the hardest things in life is to keep your
eyes on Jesus Christ and your nose out of the other people’s business.
*Job 26:2-4 – It is possible that these questions will be asked at the Christian’s
judgment.
v.13) You are commanded to judge THINGS (1 Corinth. 2:15-16), but not to judge
people. Paul rebuked the local church at Corinth for not judging a matter (1 Corinth.
6:1-6). A Christian should have the simple discernment to know the difference
between right and wrong.
v.14) Paul was fully persuaded (v.5). Perhaps, a particular thing is not unclean, but
what you do with that thing can be unclean. There is nothing wrong with sex
(between a husband and wife). However, if it is outside of God’s boundary of
marriage, then it is sin. There is nothing wrong with money, but to love money and
covet money is a sin (1 Tim. 6:10). There is nothing wrong with food, but to make a
god of your belly is a sin (Phil. 3:19).
*If an activity causes a brother to stumble and you do not have to do it, then do not do
it (1 Corinth. 10:25-30).
v.16) Is. 5:20; 1 Corinth. 6:12
v.17) A DEFINITION: The Kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom. It is a
spiritual kingdom. In the Church Age in which we live, God’s plan is not to overtake
evil by physical force. His plan is to quietly call out a small group of people for His
name from the Gentile nations (Acts 15:14). Christians will NEVER be the majority
in this church age. The physical, earthly kingdom will come during the millennium.
vv.18,19) Most of the time, the man that is acceptable to God is the man that is
approved by other men. That is not always the rule, but most of the time it is true.
v.20) Do not destroy a local church by arguing about doubtful things. “With offence”
refers to a man that has a bad conscience about something he is doing.
v.21) This is a good general rule about doubtful things.
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